So what's Marvel going to do when Robert Downey Jr. decides he doesn't want to be Iron Man anymore? He originally signed a contract to do four films for Marvel, and after Iron Man 3 that contract will be fulfilled. This is the actor that took Marvel to a whole new level and brought the studio to point where they are today. But he can't and won't play Iron Man forever, so when he decides that he's done, or Marvel doesn't want to pay him what he's worth now, what's Marvel going to do when they want to make another Iron Man movie? Replace him of course. It never stopped them before; they've replaced Edward Norton as the Hulk and Terrence Howard as Rhodey.

Badass Digest caught up with Marvel Studios president Kevin Feigeat CinemaCon and asked him about this. He went on to describe that they will treat Tony Stark like James Bond in this situation...

I think Bond is a good example. Let’s put it this way: I hope Downey makes a lot of movies for us as Stark. If and when he doesn’t, and I’m still here making these movies, we don’t take him to Afghanistan and have him wounded again. I think we James Bond it.

By "James Bonding," he means the character can be replaced with an actor as many times as they need to do it to get their movies made. So 20 years from now, maybe we'll all be having a conversation about who our favorite Iron Man actor was. It's kind of weird to think about, but I can see it. That can also be applied to every other actor portraying a Marvel Superhero as well. As long as the studio keeps wanting make these films they'll need actors to fill the roles. It's something that we'll just have to accept, and I'm OK with it.

All that matters to me is that they keep the stories moving forward. I'll be pissed if Marvel decides to reboot everything they've done. That just seems stupid. What do you think about the fact that all of the actors in these Marvel films will eventually be replaced? What are some alternative actors that you think would be good in the roles of some of these superheroes?

Joey Paur — Co-Founder / Editor of GeekTyrant.com, and if you haven't noticed I write… a lot. Movies are my passion and I live and breathe all things geek. This site is part of my life's work, it's a part of me. I love what I do, and I enjoy sharing everything I can with you when it comes to movies and geekery. In my spare time I travel to the netherworlds to battle demons. @JoeyPaur | joeypaur@geektyrant.com